


A Birthday with Ponies

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 06:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15966209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: After a bit of an exciting start, Ali decides to spend her birthday on South Hoof. Ali belongs to sso-aliarchdotter on tumblr (I keep forgetting people's AO3, I need to start writing them down).





	A Birthday with Ponies

Ali stifled a yawn as she approached the paddock where she currently had some of her horses turned out. She hadn't been inside the stable yet, wanting to check on the horses who had overnighted in the pasture first. She smiled as she reached it, though, seeing her five horses already up and about. Biscuit, of course, had his head in the grass, cropping at the tasty blades and no doubt preparing himself for breakfast. Because he would still be ready for breakfast, Ali knew that from experience. That chunky little orb never stopped eating.

"Good morning, my lovely ones," said Ali, leaning against the fence and burying her hands in her armpits. It was a chilly morning, her breath fogging in the air and the dew almost freezing in the grass. In the paddock, four horses picked their heads up (Biscuit, however, continued to eat, though he did flick his ear in acknowledgement). Ali made a kissy noise, beckoning her Soul Steed Moonshadow over to her.

Moon received his good morning pets first, before Casper, a Welsh pony, came trotting up and nudged the larger horse out of the way. Ali laughed.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of love to go around," said Ali as Moon snorted and turned away, walking away to let Casper receive the love that he clearly needed in order to function.

Slowly, Ali managed to greet the rest of her horses, Aurora and Dakota being last due to their still rather shy natures. Ali cooed over Dakota, who shied away from her a little at first.

"It's okay, girl," Ali cooed. "We don't have to go out today. It's my birthday so I'm having a day off from training."

"What are you going to do instead?" asked Moon, the only one of her horses who could speak to her. Sometimes Ali was glad for that, but other times, she wished that she could speak to her other horses. Knowing what Aurora and Dakota went through from their perspectives would probably be so helpful for their recovery.

"Just go for a ride, I guess," said Ali with a shrug, looking up at him as she petted Dakota's muzzle. Dakota rested her muzzle in Ali's hand, closing her eyes peacefully. It almost made Ali's heart ache to look at, remembering how skittish and easy to spook the mare had been before. She'd come so far in such a short time. Maybe that had something to do with the Soul Rider business. If Ali were the betting kind, she would have put money on it.

"I'm up for that," said Moon, perking his ears up with a whinny. Ali laughed.

"Well, if I could take the whole herd, I would," said Ali. "But maybe just one or two, I think. I'll leave these two lovely mares in the paddock if they're comfortable here, and I don't have the heart to tear Biscuit away from his food. Maybe the stable can use him for pony rides." Biscuit looked up, grass falling from his mouth. He looked frightened, though Ali knew that he was only play-acting. Especially when he turned away with a whinny and bolted over to the other side of the paddock to resume eating. It spooked Dakota, though, who pinned her ears and jerked her head back, truly bolting around the paddock.

Ali leaped over the paddock fence, grabbing Dakota's halter and pulling herself up onto Aurora's back. The mare was usually quite good at calming her fellow rescue, so Ali hoped that today would be no different. She rode Aurora at a canter, not wanting to spook Dakota further but also wanting to catch the mare before she could hurt herself or one of the other horses.

"I'll try to calm her," said Moon, heading off at a trot over to the bolting mare.

"Biscuit, apologise for spooking her," said Ali as she passed the little pony. Biscuit flicked his tail.

Somehow, Ali managed to calm the mare, slipping the halter over her neck and leading her over to a quiet corner of the paddock.

"Shh, it's okay," Ali soothed her, petting her neck. Dakota whickered, still scared, so Ali fed her a peppermint. Biscuit immediately lifted his head at the sound of the plastic wrapper, to which Ali tossed him another peppermint. Biscuit snuffled it up off the ground and looked at her for more. This time, Ali refused him.

"Well, that was quite an eventful start to your birthday," said Moon as Ali continued trying to calm Dakota. Aurora looked concerned, but only approached when Ali gave her a nod.

"Tell me about it," said Ali, relieved when Dakota accepted Aurora's comforting nuzzle. "Okay, now I'm definitely going to loan Biscuit to one of the stables for the day. Maybe Fort Pinta, they're well-known for ponies."

"I'm sure James will love that," said Moon. Ali laughed, imagining the look on James' face. He wouldn't pay her well at all, but that was okay. It would make the kids happy, at least. Biscuit had a gift for making children happy.

"Casper," Ali called. Her dapple grey Welsh pony lifted his head, his ears twitching. "Want to go for a ride over to South Hoof today?" Casper gave a whinny, which Dakota pinned her ears at but didn't spook this time. That was a relief. Like Moon had said, this was quite enough excitement for one day.

Though Ali could have taken the trailer directly to the farm at South Hoof, now that the trailer drivers had combined their routes, she instead decided to take the ferry over after dropping Biscuit off at Fort Pinta, seeing as how she had Moonshadow with her and Casper attached to a leadrope. The ferry driver looked surprised to see her.

"Wow, a passenger? Not many people have been taking the ferries lately, not since the trailer drivers changed their route," said the ferryman with a scowl.

"Yeah, I decided to feel the wind in my hair," said Ali, finding a comfortable place for her and her horses to stand. It really was much quieter on the ferry today, it almost looked empty.

"Good choice," said the ferryman as he pulled up the gate. Once the clunking and rattling had passed, he spoke again, raising his voice to be heard above the roar of the engine. "Nothing beats the sea breeze!"

"I agree!" Ali shouted back, the wind already whipping her hair around. It was warm, though, the sun beating down on her. Casper looked towards South Hoof, though, flicking his tail and tossing his head in his excitement to get there. As the island got closer and closer, he became ever more restless, almost pacing. Ali was glad that she didn't have to worry about him bumping into any other passengers, content to let him wander. It was a smooth ride, too, the water not choppy at all. It never was here. The waters were always calm in Jorvik. It was almost strange... but maybe that was a good thing. Calm waters meant that nothing was stirring beneath.

"Here we are," the ferryman announced when the ferry finally came to a gentle stop against the South Hoof ferry docks.

"Thanks!" Ali called as she rode Moonshadow off. Casper tried to run on ahead, but the lead rope stopped him. He turned and whinnied at her, eager to get going.

"You have a lovely day, miss!" the ferryman called, waving to her.

"You too! And will do! It's my birthday so I hope it's good," said Ali with a laugh.

"Oh!" said the ferryman. "Well, then, happy birthday."

"Thanks," said Ali, grinning. She looked at Casper, who impatiently stamped his hoof, and laughed. "Alright, I'm coming."

Thankfully, Casper ascended the stairs at a more sedate pace, but once his hooves touched the soil of his home, he was off again. Thankfully, Moon managed to keep pace with him easily, even if Ali did have to hold on tightly.

"Casper!" Ali called, the wind snatching her voice away. "Slow down!" Casper neighed, and Ali laughed again at how much it sounded like a 'no'.

More neighs came from across the peninsula, and Ali knew that she'd be able to see a dust cloud if South Hoof wasn't made up of mostly rocks and grass. She could hear the thunder even above the thunder of her own horses' hooves, and very soon, the large herd of Welsh ponies came into sight, all neighing and whinnying as they beheld the sight of their former herdmate.

"Welcome home again, buddy," said Ali, relieved when Casper finally slowed down and walked among his herd, nickering greetings to the other ponies and nuzzling with them or pressing himself against them.

"The herd is thriving," said Moon as the pair watched the group of ponies mingle. "And it's all thanks to you, Aali- I mean, Ali."

"Thanks," said Ali, smiling as she played with her horse's mane. "Nightdust and Madison did a lot of the work too, though, I can't take all the credit."

"You do deserve some of it, though," said Moon. "You should be proud."

"I am," said Ali. Just like she'd been proud after everything that she'd achieved with the druids.

"Good," said Moon. "You have achieved so much in your life already, Ali. Rescuing horses, including Dakota and Aurora, helping random Jorvegians with their trivial or earth-changing issues, saving the world countless times. Of course, I deserve some of that credit too, which I accept."

"Of course you do," said Ali with a laugh. Maybe it was in the nature of Soul Steeds to be a little boastful. Not that Moon was overly boastful, he also did the work and acknowledged the work of others.

As Ali watched the herd, the day passed by. Gradually, she made her way to the shade of one of the large rocks, sitting down in the shade of it on another rock. It almost made a natural seat.

"You know what I forgot?" asked Ali as her stomach rumbled. Moon nickered, the sound like a laugh, and Ali sighed as she stood up again and mounted Moon once again.

"Maybe the Hightowers will have some food," said Moon.

"That's what I'm hoping," said Ali. "The only closest food place is Jamie Olivetree's, and I don't want to get food poisoning on my birthday." Moon gave another nicker as they headed off, both of them knowing that Casper would be just fine here with his old herd. He had a lot of catching up to do, after all, and he always loved it when he was home.

Madison saw Ali even before she'd reached the farm, riding around in the paddock on a horse that looked like the night sky.

"Ali!" Madison cried, turning Nightdust and jumping him over the fence to bring him to a stop in front of Moon. Ali slowed Moon to a stop, grinning at the little Hightower girl.

"Hi, Madison," said Ali, smiling down at her.

"You came for a visit! I knew you would, nobody can stay away from Nightdust for long," said Madison, petting her horse's dark blue mane. Nightdust nickered, looking quite content. Ali was warmed to see him looking so happy, after everything that had happened.

"Well, I brought Casper over for a birthday ride so he could see his family and I forgot to bring lunch with me," said Ali.

"Wait, is it your birthday or Casper's?" asked Madison.

"Mine," said Ali.

"Oh, happy birthday!" said Madison, grinning. "If you're hungry, Grandpa Jonas is cooking some omelettes for lunch, and he has some oysters and daddy has some leftover fish in the fridge."

"That sounds perfect, I'm starving," said Ali, nudging Moon's sides to get him to walk into the Hightower farm's yard.

"Daddy, grandpa Jonas, we have a guest for lunch," said Madison, running into the farmhouse.

"Hi," said Ali, giving a small wave with a smile.

"Why, hello there, Ali," said Jonas, turning to smile at her from where he stood at the stove making omelettes, just as Madison had said he would be. "What a pleasant surprise it is to see you here again."

"Pleasure to be here," said Ali, beaming.

"It's Ali's birthday!" said Madison, hopping over to the stove. "We have to bake her a birthday cake!"

"You don't have to," said Ali with a laugh.

"Yes we do," said Madison, already pulling out mixing bowls.

"Looks like her heart's set on it," said Jonas with a chuckle. "Omelette?"

"Yes please," said Ali, taking a seat at the table.

While Madison busied herself with baking a chocolate cake (and covering half the kitchen in batter and flour and cocoa powder), Ali enjoyed a delicious fishy omelette. She passed on the oysters, though, just wanting something nice and simple.

The instant the cake was baked, though, Madison insisted that it had to be frosted that second.

"No, Madison, you need to let it cool first," said Jonas, taking a step towards his granddaughter. But Madison was already smearing chocolate frosting (which was in a tub in the fridge, no doubt pre-bought for the precious little ray of sunshine) onto the hot cake, causing it to melt down the sides.

"But this is the best way to make cake, grandpa," said Madison, grinning at him. Jonas shook his head, chuckling.

"I hope you don't mind if it's a little... wet," said Jonas as he cut a large slice of cake (at Madison's demand) for Ali.

"It's okay," said Ali with a laugh. Though it did definitely resemble wet mush, she knew that it would taste very sweet. The cake was cooked properly (Jonas had supervised that part), the melting frosting had just rendered it very soggy. And, as Ali put a spoonful of it into her mouth, she decided that it was, indeed, very sweet. And very delicious.

"Do you like it?" asked Madison, looking at her with big eyes. Ali nodded, delighted when Madison squealed with glee and began to spin around the room. "Can you see me smiling right now?" Ali laughed, feeling joy spread through her. Madison's smile was largely because of her, a fact that always brought her joy. Her heart soared at the sight of it, and she took another bite of her cake. Coming here for her birthday had definitely been a great idea.


End file.
